PART III. 



GENERAL NOTES ON BIRDS AND WEATHER, AT JEFFERSON, 

 WISCONSIN, IN THE SPRING OF 1883. 



W. W. COOKE. 



January 21. — Coldest day of Winter ; mercury 33 dgs. below zero. 



January 26. — Hail and rain in small quantities with south, wind. From 

 then on there was medium Winter weather until February 12, it began to 

 feel Spring-like. The next day was also pleasant; mercury at 27 dgs. with 

 south wind. 



February 14. — Commenced to thaw. South wind. 



February 15. — Warm. At night heavy rain with thunder and lightning. 



February 16. — Rained all day. Strong south wind. 



Februaiy 22. — Slight snow, wind north, mercury at 16 dgs. Clear. 



February 23 to 28. — Constantly growing warmer, with mostly south, but not 

 strong winds. 



March 1. — South wind at 6 a. m., mercury was 27 dgs. ; at 9 a. m. 36 dgs. ; at 

 1 p. m. 55 dgs. Snow three-fifths gone. 



March 6. — Snow all gone, 



March 9 to 12. — Severe northwest wind, everything frozen solid. 



March 13 and 14. — Verj^ warm with west wind, starting the waterbirds 

 northward. Next day cold, with hard northwest wind. Winter once more 

 and not a bird to be seen. 



March 16 and 17.— Warm southwest wind. 



March 18. — Cold, almost to zero. No migration whatever took place from 

 this date until the 23d. 



March 23. — Night of the twenty-third clear, barely 32 dgs. with south wind. 

 Just the night for birds, and the morning showed quite large arrivals of 

 snowbirds, tree sparrows robins, blackbirds and bluebirds. But Spring was 

 not yet to come and from the 25th to evening of the 31st, the nights were cold 

 and freezing, with northeast to northwest winds, and snow on two days. No 

 increase in any birds. 



The first of April, it began to change. 



April 2 — Was a bright, beautiful Spring day, with the night before clear 

 and s-till, but so cold, that no migration was perceptible. The first frogs ap- 

 peared, and mud-turtles were very numerous along the river bank. 



April 3 — During this day preparatory moves were made by ducks and 

 geese, and the night of the 3rd ushered in the first real wave of Spring mi- 

 gration. Queer weather for migration. 



April 3. — This day was a mixture of snow and rain, and the night was 

 very damp and cloudy with a warm south wind, and mercury at 40 dgs. Yet 

 this dark, cloudy night brought the bulk of the snowbirds and tree sparrows. 



